1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to flight control laws, and more specifically, to a system for rapid control law development.
2. Description of Related Art
Fly-by-wire (FBW) systems are well known in the art for effectively controlling aircraft maneuverability during flight. The FBW system replaces conventional manual flight controls with an electronic interface configured to convert an electronic signal to a flight control computer, which in turn commands one or more aircraft actuators.
Conventional FBW systems typically include a plurality of control laws that control flight maneuverability such as yaw, pitch, and roll based upon, for example, the current flight conditions, actuator inputs, and the aircraft structural limitations.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional FBW system 101 having a flight control computer 103 operably associated with one or more sensors 105 and actuators 107. Input commands from actuator 109 are sensed with senor 105, which in turn are relayed to the flight control computer 103. The signals are received by one or more qualified control laws 110 which are then sent to actuators 107.
It should be understood that the FBW control laws are programmed in the control system software architecture and are subject to strict Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. The FAA has adopted the RTCA/DO-178B guidelines, titled “Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification,” as the certification standard for aviation software. Any safety-critical component in a FBW system including applications of the laws of aeronautics and computer operating systems must be certified under DO-178B Level A, which is applicable for preventing potential catastrophic failures. It should noted that the system, computer, control laws, and software associated therewith are considered “qualified” after undergoing the certification process.
A problem commonly associated with conventional FBW systems is the need to modify the qualified control law architecture after undergoing FAA verification and certification. Changes to the control law architecture must be recertified under FAA guidelines. It should be noted this process is very time consuming; reaching up to six months or more prior to approval.
Another common problem exists after continuous use of the aircraft or when changes are made to the aircraft structure that affects the flight performance. These changes require further adjusting of the control laws to achieve optimal flight performance, which currently require extensive time and effort to received FAA approval.
Although the foregoing developments in FBW technology represent great strides, many shortcomings remain.
While the system and method of the present application is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the process of the present application as defined by the appended claims.